Hey boys and girls, the New York Asian Film
Festival handed their Celebrity Award to one of
the most prolific stars of Korean cinema. Park Joong-hoon
has won many international awards for films like Nowhere to Hide
and Radio Star during his nearly 30-year
acting career. He now turns director for Top Star,
an insiderís look at the rise and fall of fame.

Dig it!

Top Star

Park
Joong-hoon

The
Lady Miz Diva: How do you feel about receiving the New York Asian Film
Festivalís Celebrity Award?

Park Joong-hoon: First of all, Iím really
thankful, of course. And it has a kind of special meaning, this
Celebrity Award from New York; when I was 25 years old, I was already an
actor, but I temporarily stopped and came here to study for two years.
So I was influenced very much by New York in my 20s. I came here to
become a great actor.

LMD:
How did Top Star come to you?

PJ-h: As you know, I have been an actor for
almost 29 years. Actors, they want to get agreement from the audience
through their expressing emotion. Directors, they have to get agreement
from the audience through their thinking. That is what I think the big,
big difference is between directors and actors. But as an actor, I was
very satisfied with a good script and expressing my emotions, which is
acting, then showing, getting agreement, popularity, money - I was very
satisfied and it went very well.

Then one day, I was very thirsty to talk about some
story to the world; actors - even Tom Cruise, or whoever, popular actors
- other people pick up the story first, then they ask to the actor. I
wanted to say my story, thatís when I wanted to be a director. And also
I really wanted to be a successful man, so I just thought of myself, not
othersí feelings. Now I can tell, at the time I didnít know, but I just
focused on achieving my goal. I thought I was happy, but now I can tell
I was not really happy, because happiness is from relationships between
human beings, I guess. I just focused to achieve my goal, so I didnít
think about others.

LMD: Weíve seen the story of the nobody becomes
a huge star overnight many times in films. I feel like Top Star is
different because we have almost an insiderís perspective. I think
viewers will wonder if what weíre seeing onscreen is based on either
real people or situations?

PJ-h: From experience, to be a success, I
appreciated the success that others made for me. Tae-sik, from the
beginning looks like a very nice person; later, after he achieves his
goal, heís a completely different person. That was not my purpose; Tae-sik
is the same person at the beginning and the end. Heís the same person,
but at the beginning of the situation, he couldnít express his emotions
and everything because he didnít have power. After he got power, he
expresses all his emotions and everything.

That is one of my points of view about human
beings, part of my thinking. For example, my mother is very well, our
family is healthy, she has very high pride, but some people, like
cleaning ladies, I think cleaning ladies and my mother are the same; but
my mother has a situation to express her emotions, but the cleaning lady
is the same, but she has no power to express herself. So Tae-sik is not
changed; that person is the same person.

LMD:
Thatís interesting because in the film thereís a scene toward the end
where Tae-sikís best friend and manager tells him, ďI used to say you
were good guy,Ē which seems to say that his best friend doesnít think
heís a good guy anymore. So if you believe Tae-sik is the same from the
beginning to the end, does that mean he was not a good guy?

PJ-h: Tae-sik is a really good guy, but his
desire to be a success is too much, too over the top. Thatís why he
doesnít look like a good guy, because he does not care if he is a good
person or not. He only cares about his success. Thatís my story to
when I was 20, Iím 48 years old. In my 20s, I didnít think about of
othersí emotions, I kept going after my success. Now I realize I have
hurt a lot of people. I didnít know that the time.

LMD: So the experience of making this film made
you look back at your life and career?

PJ-h: Making this film, yeah. First of
all, I wanted to be a director, but if I didnít direct this film as my
first movie, maybe I canít direct the next movie anymore, because this
is kind of my real mind to the world. I want to show how I have lived
first through this film, then I can direct a second film.

LMD: Did the inclusion of screenwriter Choi
Seok-hwan, who youíve worked with before in Radio Star and Hwangsanbul
give you a sense of comfort?

PJ-h: Yeah, working with him was a really
great job. Not that easy, but great. I have the story before I wrote the
script. I wrote the script and I produced and directed this. So with the
writer, I knew the story but he coaches me and advised me as to the
structure of the script. So he focused and structured the story and I
wrote according to the structure. We discussed a lot, and met a lot and
then I wrote.

LMD:
The timing of the film is very interesting, Iím relatively new to the
world of Korean celebrity media but it does seem like with social media
and the rise of the netizen, scandal has become a weapon to take down
celebrities and another thing actors must worry about. Tae-sik uses the
media very skillfully.

PJ-h: I donít know why, but Korean people
ask entertainers and show business stars for their morality. In many
countries, morality is required of politicians, but in France, the
president has some affairs and they donít care. But Korean people care
about everything; morality personality, not only their performance, so
that is a really hard part for Korean stars. SNS and online - Korea is a
very small country and with the SNS, everybody has a camera and
Internet. This is actually based on a true story, not one real personís
story, but itís a lot of actorsí true story. For example, like the
suicide and the sexual harassment and the sexual rape to someone under
18 years old. Itís a story of many stars who have committed suicide, or
the reputation is gone. A lot of the stories are true stories. Some
others have said, ĎHey, Joong-hoon, your movie is not fresh at all
because we know that episode is a real true story that happened in real
life.í

LMD: One of the things I thought was fun about
the film was the star cameos.

PJ-h: {Laughs} Do you like {actress}
Uhm Jung-hwa?

LMD:
I love her. I think sheís great.

PJ-h: Diva, she is a really wonderful
person. Her debut film was my film around 20 years ago. I was born in
1966, she was born in 1969, so since then, 20 years later, sheís the
same exactly the same. Iím not talking about her skin, Iím talking
about her attitude. From 20 years ago, she was nothing; supporting role
in my movie and she kind of talked to me from that position. Now that
sheís become a really big star and whenever I see her, her attitude is
the same as 20 years ago. Nothing changed. Sheís a very beautiful
person.

LMD:
And you also have a cameo from Ryoo Seung-wan, who has also become a big
director.

PJ-h: Ryoo Seung-wan, when I was a disc
jockey of the radio station on this very popular show 25 years ago, he
was a high school student and he was in my studio. I didnít remember,
he told me that. {Laughs}

LMD: Iím fascinated with the quality of Korean
acting. Thereís an naturalness in the performance of someone like
yourself and the others top actors. I know there are many acting schools
and Iím sure they teach the same styles of acting as we have in the
West, but why does it seem like very good Korean actors have the ability
to disappear so perfectly into their roles, whereas many ďHollywoodĒ
actors are always themselves?

PJ-h: Thatís a good question. For me,
American stars like Tom Cruise and Robert De Niro, they are always Tom
Cruise and Robert De Niro. In Korea, they call me ĎJoong-hoon is always
Joong-hoon,í too. Itís a good meaning, because if an actor completely
loses himself, I donít think that is attractive, because half-and-half
is fine. If I threw everything away to go into the character, that
means I wouldnít be seen. For example, in The Godfather, Marlon Brando
is beautiful, his acting; the people want to see Marlon Brando plays The
Godfather, right? If Dustin Hoffman played The Godfather, even if he
acted very well, people donít want to see The Godfather role through
Dustin Hoffman; we want to see The Godfather role through Marlon Brando.
Which means we want to see Marlon Brando and at the same time, the
character. Thatís my so strong personal belief. If we can only see
Marlon Brando, we can tell his mannerisms. If we only see the other
characters, whereís Marlon Brando? Whereís the commercial star actor,
Marlon Brando? So my personal taste; the best actor is completely into
the character and in the same time not losing themselves.

LMD: Youíve already made US-produced films, but
Iím curious about your thoughts of other filmmakers like Park Chan-wook,
Kim Ji-woon or Bong Joon-ho who have directed international films? Do
you think the Korean film industry can grow and thrive by its filmmakers
doing international productions?

PJ-h: Absolutely! I totally 100% agree to
do that. These days what is an American film? What is a Korean film?
Like Bongís film, like Park Chan-wookís film, thatís an American film.
That territory is in the American film industry, right? But the director
is a Korean director. So, Iím concerned about a good film and not, I
donít have a concern about which nationality does it. It has no meaning
for me.

LMD: Do you think having the exposure in the
West makes worldwide audiences more interested in a directorís other
Korean work? Like someone in the US who liked Stoker might go back and
look at the rest of Director Parkís movies?

PJ-h: To tell the truth, Korean filmmakers
have no success here, not yet. A lot of tries, but not yet. Even
Stoker, no one knows Stoker except those interested in Korean movies.
So it can be a really great career experience, but not yet. Thereís no
influence, not yet.

LMD:
Has this experience of directing changed your perspective is an actor?

PJ-h: Acting is my permanent job.
Directing - when I want to say something to the world, then I will
direct. Now, my situation is as an actor. Iím okay to work as an
actor, but Iím not really a hot actor anymore, but it doesnít mean not a
meaningful actor. One day I want to play and write and direct.

LMD: About the ending of the film; we were
talking about how the Korean public demands morality of its stars, yet
Iím not sure whether the final scene serves that?

PJ-h: I thought about that a lot. When
heís waiting for the director, eventually the director doesnít come and
then finish. That version I had. I was confused, because the first one
is good for reality and itís good to think about its layers. But the
second one has more hope, I want to make people have some hope. Thatís
why I let the director come.

LMD:
One of the scenes that stayed in my head was the one where Won-joon {Kim
Min-jun} is literally teaching Tae-sik to act in 30 seconds behind
the scenes. Do you think Tae-sik really wanted to become an actor or he
just wanted to be a star? The two are very different goals.

PJ-h: Tae-sik wants to be a star. But to
be a star, they have to use their acting. People say, ĎYou want to be a
star, or do you want to be a real actor?í I prefer real star. Real
star means including real acting. Think about Robert De Niro, Marlon
Brando - real star, but real actors before real stars. Unfortunately,
there are a lot of really great actors that are not stars. So, I mean I
prefer being a true actor, but actually true star means bigger than true
actor. Thatís my opinion.

LMD: What is your next project?

PJ-h: I have been offered several scripts
by producers. Thereís a very commercial film I want to direct, but the
time is shorter than Top Star because Iím not going to write. I wrote
this for two years. But I want to direct my story, not others. Iím
thinking, I donít know yet. But luckily Iíve been an actor pretty okay,
then I tried to direct. But I think the audience and even my field of
people, do you know this kind of feeling, they are kind of wait and see.
ĎLetís see how heís going to do, weíll see.í They donít do it in front
of me, but I felt this kind of feeling. So if my film is a commercial
flop, then I feel they will be kind of satisfied.

LMD:
Can you please give a message to our readers who are your big fans?

PJ-h: Thanks for giving me attention, those
who donít know me at all, and also thanks for continuously giving me
love those who have known me for a long time. Iím just starting life is
a director. Iím so happy to be almost 50-years-old age that I can start
a new job. A new life. Itís amazing. And also Iím very, very lucky to
have a lot of love from the audience. I am not going to be a greedy
movie person anymore, I will try my best to focus on to make a good
film.